Ankusha

(“elephant goad”) This is a weapon with
a wooden or metal handle, with a point
and a sharp hook that real elephant handlers use to coax and goad elephants—
sometimes by poking them with the
hook, sometimes by hitting them with
the butt of the handle.
The ankusha is an important symbol
in Hindu iconography and is primarily
associated with the god Ganesh—perhaps partly because of his elephant head.
This weapon also corresponds with
Ganesh’s stature as the Lord of Obstacles,
since he can use the ankusha to poke
and prod them out of the way.
Aside from Ganesh, the ankusha is
also a symbol associated with certain
powerful forms of the Goddess. This
may originate with the myth that
describes her as being formed from the
collected radiance of all the gods, and
receiving duplicates of their weapons
from them.